Shares of the merged company dropped to their lowest point since they began trading in 2022. CEO David Zaslav said, “This better aligns our carrying values with our future outlook.” - Bloomberg (MSN)
Artists are “constantly engaging with these ideas around family, community and relationships, so I think that we look to artists, not necessarily on how to rebuild society, but to tell us what’s wrong with it. Where does it hurt?” - The Guardian (UK)
“The goal of LOUD Weekend is to imagine the world that’s yet to exist — one where composers and musicians work on equal footing, where programming is collaborative and challenging, where creation builds community, where audiences appreciate risk.” - Washington Post (MSN)
The image of a howling wolf was on a satellite dish on top of a store on Rye Lane. Two men with a ladder and masks quickly snagged the satellite dish and ran off with it. - BBC
The main suspect is a 19-year-old, who “had confessed to the plans shortly after being arrested, giving the police a detailed insight into his intended acts, which included using explosives and weapons to kill as many concert attendees as possible.” - The New York Times
"(There's a) trend in Asia seeing architects seek inspiration from the region's rice terraces and other agricultural heritages to help urban communities reduce waterlogging and flooding. Examples range from adapted wetland parks in Chinese cities to homes in Vietnam with rice paddy-inspired rooftops" — and one particularly innovative university building in Bangkok. - BBC
The Eisteddfod, Wales’ week-long “language cultural festival includes competitions in music, dance and literature. … No member of the Gorsedd has been expelled before due to being dishonoured,” but Huw Edwards’ admission of having child pornography did it. - BBC
The Bristol Old Vic says its ticket sales are up one third over last year, but ever-rising costs and the loss of grants from Bristol City Council (not to mention uncertainty over Arts Council England funding) mean it may need to cut back both its mainstage productions and community/educational work. - BBC
That is, until it opened. “The muted response to the show itself suggests that fewer British people are riled by the debate than the media coverage implies — or at least that when activists engage with potentially inflammatory art, outrage can quickly vanish.” - The New York Times
Starting in the 1830s, the American Bible Society began a campaign to get inexpensive Bibles into homes "in every part of the land," while the American Sunday-School Union, which considered secular books "sweet poison" for young minds, worked to replace them in classrooms with Christian instructional books and evangelical tracts. - Slate (MSN)
Christopher Wu has some ideas to make symphony-going seem less of a chore to newbies. “Culture is always shifting. Everyone is into TikTok now. ... So maybe we need to be open to reimagining the presentation of this music we love, not the music itself.” - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Blackbird’s new checkless exit gives me the creeps. It's just the latest in a series of changes that have gradually and steadily stripped the human touch and human voice out of restaurants. Each of these changes was small, but together they’ve made going out to eat much less personal." - The New York Times
After Neill’s blood cancer went into remission - and his book about his experiences was published - the Jurassic Park, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and The Piano actor started working harder than ever. - The Guardian (UK)
"With South African stars shining on the international stage, opera has boomed since racial barriers were scrapped in 1994, drawing in talent from the country's great choral traditions to carve out an important place in (the) cultural landscape. Much of the change has been driven by the 25-year-old Cape Town Opera." - AFP (Yahoo!)
She was one of the Bolshoi's biggest stars and in demand as a guest all over the world. Yet the president of Georgia himself called and asked her to come home to Tbilisi and revive the national ballet company, then in a desperate state after years of post-independence civil war and shortages. - Bachtrack
